Major League Baseball has had Ryan Braun in its PED cross-hairs for more than a year now. Whatever it took, whatever it cost, the game was going to take down its 2011 National League MVP and five-time all-star.

You don't embarrass baseball by becoming the first player to beat a drug-testing rap, especially when you skate on a technicality, and then become entangled with some shady South Florida characters.

And as a conclusion seems to be nigh on the bizarre case that would make Columbo chomp through his stogie, you have to ask yourself:

Could anyone still possibly believe that Braun is innocent?

When Braun was introduced as part of the starting lineup Tuesday night, the Miller Park gathering reacted with enthusiastic applause. When Braun came to bat in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds, he received an ovation for which a lot of people stood. And when he singled to move Jean Segura to third, the modest house again roared its approval.

All of that was to be expected. This town is very protective of Braun, the only legitimate big-time star since Ray Allen who publicly stated a desire to spend an entire career in Milwaukee. His mutually beneficial contract binds him here through 2021 for a guaranteed $133 million, making him as much of a civic fixture as, ironically, the big downtown skyscraper that houses the office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

It is as if the California kid by way of — oops — Miami grew up drinking from bubblers. With his riverside restaurant and lofty public posture, he has skin in the local game.

Once you might have asked why Braun would risk his good reputation here by using banned substances. The answer, at least for now, is that he likely stands to lose little locally. If — more likely, when — the 100-game suspension is done, he will return sometime next season as if nothing had happened. Certainly, no one is going to blame him for taking down a season that is already lost.

But beyond the five-county area that finances the house in which he plays, Braun is going to take a nasty hit.

He is somewhat fortunate that the national story will always be led with Alex Rodriguez's name, but the damage will be in the fact his accomplishments from 2011, one of the greatest in franchise history, always will be tainted by the public court Triple Crown of suspicion, disbelief and mistrust.

Baseball is to be applauded for its belated crackdown on cheaters, but this whole slimy Biogenesis affair doesn't exactly have credible sources on either side. Whom to believe? I don't even think that's a legitimate question anymore. Braun has twice been in situations he should have avoided. If he is innocent as he claims of putting banned substances in his body, he certainly is guilty of placing himself in circumstances that project more than a veneer of guilt.

Compounding the massive public-relations problems for Braun and the Brewers at the moment is the report that Braun took the fifth when approached by MLB cops in Pittsburgh.

Really, what are you supposed to think when someone lawyers up?

Dishonor is something Wisconsin professional athletes have rarely brought on themselves. The last notable case was Paul Hornung's yearlong NFL suspension for gambling. Braun is being accused of gaining a competitive edge, not exactly role-model material for a guy who had always been squeaky clean before his testosterone levels broke the meter more than 18 months ago.

The elephant in the room always has been that Braun and Bud Selig share the same turf. And by the looks of it, it's not big enough for both of them at the moment.

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